AGDI universe
This article compares the differences between the Sierra KQ universe, and the AGDI universe. Background It is impossible to reconcile all the major plot differences between the story in the official King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne (including the novelization and additional material given in the King's Quest Companion), and the very different story of Romancing the Stones. Even still some fans have tried to combine elements from the canon KQ2 timeline with the alternate timeline that exists in Romancing the Stones. Some parts that people have tried to reconcile with the official timeline is the details of Gerwain's Identity. According to information which Gerwain contributed to the Companion, some have assumed that Gervain was the actual security and defense ministor before KQ2(AGDI) until the Father abducted him, and took his form and office. Then they assumed that after the events of KQ2(AGDI), that the real Gervain was freed and restored to his position. However, the game states that The Father had come to the castle as Gerwain recently, and had invented the backstory of coming from an isignificant nation to the south. However, in most cases KQ2 (AGDI)'s story is entirely inconsistent with all details in Romancing the Throne and the related material from the Companion (novelization and An Encylopedia of Daventry), due to many events and situations being changed completely in Romancing the Stones. There are many paradoxes in trying to reconcile the events from the the Companion's material with that of Romancing the Stones, due to Gerwain's chronicle and Derek's material being detailed descriptions of the events specifically shown in Romancing the Throne. Its impossible to reconcile any individual parts because in each case, one story has to be ignored in its entirety due to the sheer differences of the events in each version of the story. It is much easier to consider the remake as existing as an alternative retelling of the original story, and that both represent alternative timelines in seperate universes. Gerwain vs. Gervain In the Companion, Gerwain was a well known to both King Edward and King Graham. Gerwain had been Edward's prime minister for over twenty years, before becoming Graham's prime minister. Gerwain tried to prevent Graham from going to Kolyma paranoid that the king would be in danger there. Then he waited impatiently for his king's return. When the king got back, he even scolded Graham for having risked his own life. Gervain from Romancing the Stones, on the other hand admits to Graham that he never met King Edward. Graham hardly knows him, and he had only recently joined King Graham's court, claiming to have come from an insignificant land to the south. When Graham decided to go to Kolyma, Gervain couldn't wait to to see King Graham leave, so that he could have him killed, allowing him to take over the kingdom. The Father and Rosella in KQ3R confirms that he only been hired under King Graham for a short time. Geography of Kolyma The descriptions of Kolyma in the Companion by both Derek and Gerwain is of the land as shown in the original game, with magical space warping barriers known as Magical Law of "Containment". Where as in KQ2 (AGDI), Kolyma is an even smaller land with natural barriers such as rocks and dense forest. The few locations that both versions share are located in different parts of their respective maps. Removed characters Derek and Gerwain also describe Graham's encounters with the Good Fairy and the Genie of the Lamp. Both are characters who do not exist in the AGDI timeline. Graham never met the Good Fairy at all, and the Genie was missing from its lamp having been given its freedom. Differences between the Vampire stories According to the companion, in both Gerwain's chronicle and Derek Karlavaegen's encyclopedic references to the Romancing the Throne story, they both tell of Dracula's death at the hands of King Graham. In Romancing the Stones, King Graham meets Caldaur instead, who nearly kills him, until he convinces the vampire he means no harm. In the end the vampire turns out to be the somewhat cold yet still benevolent former ruler of Kolyma. In the end Caldaur regains his position of power, and even officiates King Graham's wedding to Valanice. Changes to the Monastery Both Derek and Gerwain describe the Monastery of the Blessed Wilbury lead by benevolent monks that protect travelers from Dracula and his minions. They describe one particulary helpful monk, Brother Fragola who later officiated King Graham's marriage to Valanice at the monastery after they returned from the Quartz Tower. Trying to kill the monk in the Romancing the Throne would result in Graham's death. King's Questions also makes reference to the Monastery of the Blessed Wilbury and the wedding there. In the Romancing the Stones, the monastery became the Church of the Faith, and the monks were turned into an evil pack of werewolves called the Brotherhood of the Pack, whom Graham is forced to defeat. Ultimately he kills their leader Llowh'wof. Graham chooses to never marry in the church. The Doorway The Magical Doorway consists of three nested and locked doors requiring three magical keys. The Door of Destiny was a sentient being in the form of a rock slab with 3 slots for 3 stones. Enchanted Island According to Gerwain and Derek Karlavaegen, the Enchanted Island is a physical island on the face of Daventry. In Romancing the Stones, the island exists as a minature inside of a snow globe rather than a physical location on the face of world of Daventry. The Sapphire Jewels Both Derek and Gerwain describe the five Sapphire Jewels and where they had been hidden across the land. He also note the fact that they became Valanice's wedding present. The treasures are also mentioned in King's Questions. The jewels can be seen on Valanice in future games. In Romancing the Stones most of the treasures were removed or were used for things other than wedding presents. The brooch and earring could still be found. However one of the two ended up being used for an ingredient for a spell (and was destroyed in the process). The tierra ended up being a treasure belonging to Caldaur's family and was returned to them. The sapphire necklace and bracelet do not appear in the game. As such the Sapphire Jewels do not become Valanice wedding present (though she is given a gold wedding band). In the end Graham only has a single element of the sapphire jewels (either the brooch or the earrings depending on which was one was not used in the spell). Daventry's Heirs Official lore specifically from the King's Quest Companion suggests that Rosella and Edgar would become the heirs to the throne of Daventry when Graham died. Stones suggests that Graham was cursed and neither of his children would become heirs of Daventry, instead Connor became his new heir. AGDI trilogy and other KQ games As it stands KQ2 (AGDI) works pretty well if one ignores any material related to the original KQ2 story (Romancing the Throne, the game's companion novelization, and any of the filler material from the An Encyclopedia of Daventry). It fits as part of the AGDI trilogy, KQ1-3R and fits into 4-8. One could possibly work in the King's Quest novel trilogy as they don't interfere with the other games storylines. However even that would not be perfect, since there are a few references within Romancing the Stones that implies that the three-headed dragon began terrorizing Daventry almost as soon as Alexander was kidnapped, and started destroying the land (though KQ3R suggests Graham hadn't started sending girls to the Dragon until a few years before KQ3, the land was destroyed before that). So only a handful of maidens including Rosella were offered up to the dragon. Where as in the two novels that take place during the period (Kingdom of Sorrow and See No Weevil), there is no evidence of the three-headed dragon having started terrorizing Daventry yet nor evidence that the king had started sending yearly maidens to their death. Instead other calamities befell Daventry including the extended winter during the Kingdom of Sorrow and the destruction rendered to the country by the sloks and weevils in See No Weevil. Within the novel continuity the dragon apparently didn't start terrorizing the land until after See No Weevil when Rosella was 15, giving the dragon about three years at the most to terrorize the kingdom. Thus only three maidens at the most (including Rosella) were offered to the dragon. Unless of course Graham was secretly sacrificing girls a bit earlier, and the practice was marginally successful at keeping the dragon at bay. Still, the King's Quest Companion gives a bit more wiggle room within the official continuity, as it mentions that the three-headed dragon began its destruction in other kingdoms on the continent of Daventry before reaching the kingdom proper. It does not specifically mention when the dragon finally reached the kingdom of Daventry which allows room for the novels to take place. See Alternate Timelines for more information. * *